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CertainTeed Corp. v. Fletcher

Manufacturer of asbestos-containing cement water pipe had no duty to warn daughter of man who worked with those pipes about the possible hazards associated with inhaling asbestos dust from its products.

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Appellee Marcella Fletcher was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, which she attributed to years of laundering her father’s asbestos-dust-covered work clothing, and she sued Appellant CertainTeed Corporation, who manufactured the asbestos-laden water pipes with which her father had worked. In her complaint, she alleged, inter alia, negligent design and negligent failure to warn. Before the completion of discovery, the trial court granted CertainTeed’s motion for summary judgment, and Fletcher appealed.

A majority of the Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment, concluding that CertainTeed had failed to demonstrate, as a matter of law, the absence of evidence that its product was defectively designed.1 The Court of Appeals also found that a jury question existed as to whether CertainTeed had a duty to warn Fletcher of the risks associated with inhaling asbestos dust. See Fletcher v. Water Applications Distribution Group, Inc., 333 Ga. App. 693 773 SE2d 859 2015. We granted certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Appeals. While we conclude that CertainTeed owed no duty to warn Fletcher of the possible hazards of asbestos-dust from its products, the Court of Appeals correctly reversed the trial court’s judgment with respect to Fletcher’s defective design claim. Consequently, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals in part and reverse in part.

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